Vehicles such as long-haul trucks, cars, and boats are equipped with components that consume electrical power. By way of example only, components in a vehicle that consume electrical power typically include, but are not limited to, heating and air conditioning, interior/exterior lighting, digital consoles, and appliances such as refrigerators, coffee makers, and microwave ovens, as well as television and entertainment systems. A vehicle's engine may be maintained in a running but idle state when electrical power is needed. In this regard, those skilled in the art and others will recognize that when an engine is idling, a regular supply of electrical power is available. However, maintaining a vehicle's engine at idle for an extended period of time may result in undesired fuel consumption, engine wear, and excess emission of pollutants.
In conventional systems, mechanical ignition-bus timers allow a vehicle's engine to idle for a predetermined period of time before shutdown is initiated. As the mechanical ignition-bus timer counts down, electrical power is available to devices that consume power. Typically, mechanical ignition-bus timers override other vehicle systems to prevent shutdown. For example, even though a key-based ignition system indicates the vehicle is “off,” the mechanical ignition-bus timer keeps an engine idling until the timer expires.
Unfortunately, these types of conventional systems lack features that would be beneficial to vehicle operators. For example, conventional systems lack a readily understandable user interface for presenting information about the time remaining before vehicle shutdown. As a result, a vehicle operator may not know when electrical power will not be available to power consuming devices.
Another type of conventional system for keeping a vehicle's engine in an idle state allows a fleet manager to remotely access an engine control system and set a countdown timer. In this instance, a vehicle operator may use an onboard communication system to contact a remote site associated with the fleet manager. The communication system allows the vehicle operator to request that the vehicle's engine remain in an idle state for a predetermined amount of time. In response, a device at the fixed location transmits data over a wireless communication channel to an engine control system. Based on the incoming data, the engine control system initiates a countdown timer. A drawback to this conventional system is that the countdown timer is set and/or modified at the remote location and a vehicle operator is not able to independently set and/or modify the countdown timer without contacting the remote location. Unfortunately, a communication channel may not always be established between a vehicle and the fixed site associated with the fleet manager.